Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love's historic rushing performance shattered USC. Discover the other standout Irish who secured the hard-fought victory.
Notre Dame (5-2) won its fifth straight game with a 34-24 win over USC. It wasn't always pretty but Notre Dame made plays in all phases of the game and earned the hard-fought win. It was a bit of a back-and-forth game, but Notre Dame made all the plays needed to win the game. There were several standouts for the Irish in this win, but three players stood above the rest.
OFFENSE - Jeremiyah Love, Running Back
Stats: 24 carries, 228 yards, 9.5 YPC, 1 TD / 5 catches, 37 yards
Runners Up: RB Jadarian Price (13 carries, 87 yards, 1 TD), OL Guerby Lambert, OL Billy Schrauth, OL Joe Otting
Notre Dame fans witnessed one of the best rushing performances in program history when Jeremiyah Love ripped USC apart to the tune of 228 rushing yards on 24 carries. His 9.5 yards per carry was truly impressive, and Love fueled the Irish offense all game long. USC took a quick 7-0 lead on its opening drive, but Love made it very clear on the next series that this was going to be a long night for the Trojan defense. Love went for 63 yards on the second play of the game for the Irish offense, and he capped that series off with a 12-yard touchdown run to tie the game.
Love didn't slow down all game long. He went for 134 yards on just 10 carries in the first half, and he continued to pile on his the second half. The Irish junior showed everything you want in a big time performance. He was patient when he needed to be, he made strong reads for much of the night, he ran with authority when he needed to (see his 4th-down conversion) and when he had a chance to rip off big runs he certainly did that.
Love also caught five passes in the game, and he finished the night with 265 total yards on 29 touches. His 228 rushing yards was the most for a Notre Dame back at home in program history, and his 265 yards of offense was the most in history by an Irish back against USC.
Backfield mate Jadarian Price added 87 yards on 13 carries to add to the big time night for the Irish ground attack. The backs were special, but the offensive line played a big role in that success at well. This is especially true for the interior players: Billy Schrauth, Guerby Lambert and Joe Otting.
DEFENSE - Adon Shuler, Safety
Stats: 10 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 break up
Runners Up: CB Leonard Moore (3 tackles), DE Boubacar Traore (3 tackles, 1 sack), DT Jared Dawson (3 tackles, 1 TFL), LB Drayk Bowen (5 tackles, 1 break up), LB Jaylen Sneed (6 tackles, 1 TFL)
There were a number of players that could have earned this honor but I'm going with Adon Shuler. It didn't start great for Shuler, who got beat for a touchdown on the opening series of the game, but he bounced back and had an outstanding performance after that. Shuler set a career-high with 10 tackles, and he was a force against the run all night long.
Shuler played a lot of downhill football against the Trojans, but he also had to perform well on the back end in the pass game. His forced fumble of Makai Lemon was a game changing play for the Irish and really ended the last chance USC had to get the lead back in the game.
Linebackers Drayk Bowen, Jaylen Sneed and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa all had big time moments in the game and the Irish backers continue their strong performances over the last month. Defensive tackle Jared Dawson did a great job filling in for the injured Gabriel Rubio as a force against the run. Boubacar Traore terrorized the USC tackles all night long. Leonard Moore was impressive shutting down Lemon, including lining up over him in the slot for much of the first half.
SPECIAL TEAMS - Jadarian Price, Kick Returner
Stats: 2 returns, 113 yards, 1 TD
Runners Up: P James Rendell (4 punts, 49.0 average, 3 inside 20)
As good as James Rendell was as a punter for the Irish, there's really no one else that can get this honor than Jadarian Price. His 100-yard kick return was a game changer for the Irish. USC had just taken a 24-21 lead late in the third quarter, but that didn't last long thanks to Price. He fielded the ensuing kick two years in the end zone, broke a tackle and then outran the USC kick coverage team to the end zone for a touchdown, giving the Irish a 27-24 lead it would never relinquish.
It marked the second time that Price returned a kick against USC for a touchdown. Price took a kick back for a 99-yard score in Notre Dame's 2023 win over the Trojans.
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